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catachresis 's review for:
Creation Lake
by Rachel Kushner
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Honestly kept me up at night wondering about the conflicts nested within conflicts. Expect a slow burn and an unreliable, unlikable narrator who goes on a journey examining her commitments and assumptions.
The philosophical differences between Bruno and Jean, the conflicts at Le Moulin, and the tension of the narrator’s mission kept me turning pages. I found these conflicts to be more engaging than the prose itself, for the most part, and I found myself, like the narrator, itching to know more about the mysterious Bruno Lacombe.
Ultimately the novel’s ending feels a little anticlimactic but as I have sat with it, I think it highlights the author’s cynicism about the Moulinards’ philosophy and methods. This reads like a political thriller but ultimately it is not about power — it’s about how individuals find their place in a complex society and their understanding of the long arc of history.
The philosophical differences between Bruno and Jean, the conflicts at Le Moulin, and the tension of the narrator’s mission kept me turning pages. I found these conflicts to be more engaging than the prose itself, for the most part, and I found myself, like the narrator, itching to know more about the mysterious Bruno Lacombe.
Ultimately the novel’s ending feels a little anticlimactic but as I have sat with it, I think it highlights the author’s cynicism about the Moulinards’ philosophy and methods. This reads like a political thriller but ultimately it is not about power — it’s about how individuals find their place in a complex society and their understanding of the long arc of history.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, War
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
The long shadow of 1968 is all over this book, and life in the French Resistance during WWII also makes an appearance.